Hunter Brashears of the Sentinel FFA Chapter earned the title of State Star in Agribusiness during the fifth session of the 99th State FFA Convention and Expo May 7 at the BOK Center.
Brashears’s Star SAE project began when he hauled some hay for “an older gentleman in the community” and then grew to a full-scale hay-hauling business for small square bales. “Over the years, I decided to go into fall and autumn décor, then somewhere in between there, I had the bright idea to start a little hair sheep operation,” he shared. “It was great because I didn’t really have to do much because I had someone do a lot for me.”
Brashears has a very traditional way of stacking hay, which he says may protect him from complaints from customers, plus they are happy to have him doing a job that many shy away from. It also helps that when taking on a new client, he assures the person that should a stack ever fall, he will restack it for no additional charge, but said that hasn’t happened, yet.
“A lot of older farmers have back trouble or their knees are giving out, so I’m there with the young muscle to help get things rolling,” he shared.
Brashears described himself as a fourth-generation hay hauler, but the first to make a real business out of it. He relies on Facebook to market his services, but gets the most exposure out of word of mouth.
Brashears’s father and grandfather, Kendall Brashears, who retired from his position as executive director of the Oklahoma FFA Foundation in 2017, are staunch FFA supporters and former members, so he doesn’t believe he ever had the choice not to join the association but has since discovered the plethora of opportunities that it provides him. He regularly competes in speech contests and attends alumni camp.
He intends to attend OSU’s Ferguson College of Agricultural Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to pursue a pre-med route to eventually become a surgeon to repair the back and knee problems he sees all too often in his hay-hauling customers.
“I love being on the farm, but at the same time, I know it isn’t something I want to do for the rest of my life,” he admitted.
The State Stars were selected from the Area Stars across the state. This year’s 19 Area Stars each received a plaque and $500 cash award co-sponsored by the Masonic Charity Foundation, McDonald’s of Oklahoma, The Chickasaw Nation, Blue and Gold Sausage Co., Davis Farms, Sirloin Club of Oklahoma, Noble Research Institute, and Oklahoma Farm Bureau.
As the State Star in Agribusiness, Brashears and the other State Stars will each receive $29,737 in scholarships or capital grant funds through a $3.2 million gift from the Carl C. Anderson Sr. and Marie Jo Anderson Charitable Foundation. The late Carl C. Anderson, after whom the State Star awards are now named, was born in Naples, Oklahoma, in 1911. One of 10 children, he dropped out of high school to earn money and support his family. From those modest beginnings, the Anderson Corp. grew across the country as well as in Canada and South America.
FFA is an integral part of the agricultural education division in the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education system. With more than 29,500 members and 369 chapters, the Oklahoma FFA Association is the sixth-largest state FFA association. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education. To learn more about the Oklahoma FFA, visit okffa.org
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